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Marian S. Heiskell, Chair &
Co-Founder

Favorite Park

"Floyd Bennett Field. There is enormous potential to give children the opportunity to learn about nature."

"I grew up around woods and a lake, and I fell in love with these parks. I'd like to see them made available to many more people than they are now, available to all people. We founded the Harbor Conservancy so people can see more and know more about the beauty of New York."

Marie Salerno, President/CEO &
Co-Founder

Favorite Park

"Gateway National Recreation Area. Gateway gives New Yorkers the opportunity to experience not only a great urban park, but a great national park."

"In New York there had been no private citizen voice to speak for our unheralded national parks. The Harbor Conservancy was created to provide a unified, powerful and attainable vision for the future to inspire and guide a new era of stewardship, conservation and understanding of our heritage."

Vin Cipolla, Secretary

President, Municipal Arts Society

Favorite Park

"I'm a kayaker so I'd go to Jamaica Bay."

"We're working so more New Yorkers recognize the extraordinary resources they own as Americans and the diversity of them, from Jamaica Bay to the historic sites. These urban parks are close to where people live but underutilized. We want to change that."

Matthew Hayford, Treasurer

Senior Vice President, Morgan Stanley

Favorite Park

"Federal Hall. I took my kids there to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence."

"The Harbor Conservancy combines three important things I want for my kids: history, environment, and education. These parks change how I view the city. I want to retire and live here because of these resources."

Tonio Burgos

CEO, Tonio Burgos and Associates

Favorite Park

"The Statue of Liberty. The immigrant story symbolized by the Lady in the Harbor...In my mind no other national park in the country comes close."

"I believe that New York should have a national park system that is recognized around the country. This is a quality of life issue, an educational issue, and a legacy issue for all Americans. These are not 'New York' parks; they belong to all Americans. We want these parks accessible to every American and to every visitor across the globe."

Coleman P. Burke

Founder & Managing Partner, Waterfront Companies

Favorite Park

"Castle Clinton and the Battery. I used to sit by the fire-boat building and just watch the activity on the harbor."

"I've spent my life on the water and I love history, so the Harbor Conservancy is a natural fit for me...I love the rivers, the bridges and the forts. This is one of the greatest ports in the world."

David Callard

Senior Family Advisor, Eaton Vance Investment Counsel

Louis Capozzi

Former Chairman, Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group

James Devine

President & CEO, Global Container Terminals USA

Howard Dodson

Director, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and Howard University Libraries

Favorite Park

"African Burial Ground. They have excellent educational programs."

"These sites are an extraordinary resource for not just us New Yorkers, but for the rest of the country. The African Burial Ground in particular is a reflection of the centrality of the people of African descent in the making of the city and the nation. People can find connections to their history through all of the sites."

Russell Dubner

President, Edelman New York Office

Ellen Frell

Documentary Film Producer

Favorite Park

"Fort Wadsworth, where I can see the channel through which both sides of my family came."

"Unlike other groups that advocate for only one thing, our Harbor Conservancy unites a lot of treasures under one umbrella: nature, recreation and history all in 22 sites. I like the diversity within the unity—it's just like New York City itself."

Patsy Glazer

Independent Consultant

Favorite Park

"Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The harbor is an untapped entity that's largely hidden from most New Yorkers."

"The most exciting thing we do is make parks accessible to New Yorkers. That's what keeps me involved. It's the surprising part of New York. Here you don't normally think about the natural environment, but this is New York...the New York you didn't know."

Michael Greenspon

General Manager, News Services, The New York Times Company

Favorite Park

"General Grant Memorial and Fort Tilden. I've grown to love these historic sites through my children."

"These parks allow us to interact with history and nature, rather than just learning about it in a classroom. Figuring out how to get people to them and how to tell people about them is an exciting challenge."

Tony Hiss

Author, The Experience of Place and In Motion

Favorite Park

"Jamaica Bay has always been for me one of the jewels of the city."

"I've always been in love with New York as a natural environment. What drew people here in the first place was this estuary, where five rivers converge - estuaries are the nurseries of aquatic life, a place of great natural abundance and real beauty."

Valerie Lewis

Executive Director, Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy

Favorite Park

"Castle Clinton. To hear a folk singer sing about freedom to a packed house ... is there a better way to learn about our history?"

"I believe in the formula of the Harbor Conservancy, collaborating with other organizations to put an umbrella over these parks to advance all their causes. This way we broaden our reach, even promoting the whole issue of all national parks everywhere."

Elsie McCabe Thompson

President, Museum for African Art

Matthew Quigley

Senior Managing Director, GSO Capital Partners